the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
April 15 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Deuteronomy 23-24
Chapter 23
Exclusion and Inclusion
1 "No man whose testicles have been crushed[a] or whose penis has been cut off may enter the Lord 's assembly. 2 No one of illegitimate birth may enter the Lord 's assembly; none of his descendants, even to the tenth generation, may enter the Lord 's assembly. 3 No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the Lord 's assembly;(a) none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the Lord 's assembly. 4 This is because they did not meet you with food and water on the journey after you came out of Egypt, and because Balaam son of Beor from Pethor in Aram-naharaim was hired to curse you.(b) 5 Yet the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam, but He turned the curse into a blessing for you because the Lord your God loves(c) you.(d) 6 Never seek their peace or prosperity as long as you live. 7 Do not despise an Edomite, because he is your brother. Do not despise an Egyptian, because you were a foreign resident in his land. 8 The children born to them in the third generation may enter the Lord 's assembly.
Cleanliness of the Camp
9 "When you are encamped against your enemies, be careful to avoid anything offensive. 10 If there is a man among you who is unclean because of a bodily emission during the night, he must go outside the camp; he may not come anywhere inside the camp. 11 When evening approaches, he must wash with water, and when the sun sets he may come inside the camp.(e) 12 You must have a place outside the camp and go there to relieve yourself. 13 You must have a digging tool in your equipment; when you relieve yourself, dig a hole with it and cover up your excrement. 14 For the Lord your God walks throughout your camp to protect you and deliver your enemies to you; so your encampments must be holy. He must not see anything improper among you or He will turn away from you.
Fugitive Slaves
15 "Do not return a slave to his master when he has escaped from his master to you. 16 Let him live among you wherever he wants within your gates. Do not mistreat him.
Cult Prostitution Forbidden
17 "No Israelite woman is to be a cult prostitute, and no Israelite man is to be a cult prostitute. 18 Do not bring a female prostitute's wages or a male prostitute's[b] earnings into the house of the Lord your God to fulfill any vow, because both are detestable to the Lord your God.
Interest on Loans
19 "Do not charge your brother interest on money, food, or anything that can earn interest. 20 You may charge a foreigner interest, but you must not charge your brother interest, so that the Lord your God may bless you in everything you do[c] in the land you are entering to possess.(f)
Keeping Vows
21 "If you make a vow to the Lord your God, do not be slow to keep it, because He will require it of you, and it will be counted against you as sin. 22 But if you refrain from making a vow, it will not be counted against you as sin. 23 Be careful to do whatever comes from your lips, because you have freely vowed what you promised[d] to the Lord your God.(g)
Neighbor's Crops
24 "When you enter your neighbor's vineyard, you may eat as many grapes as you want until you are full, but you must not put any in your container. 25 When you enter your neighbor's standing grain, you may pluck heads of grain with your hand, but you must not put a sickle to your neighbor's grain.
Chapter 24
Marriage and Divorce Laws
1 "If a man marries a woman, but she becomes displeasing to him because he finds something improper about her, he may write her a divorce certificate, hand it to her, and send her away from his house.(a) 2 If after leaving his house she goes and becomes another man's wife, 3 and the second man hates her, writes her a divorce certificate, hands it to her, and sends her away from his house or if he[a] dies, 4 the first husband who sent her away may not marry her again after she has been defiled, because that would be detestable to the Lord . You must not bring guilt on the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.(b)
5 "When a man takes a bride, he must not go out with the army or be liable for any duty. He is free to stay at home for one year, so that he can bring joy to the wife he has married.
Safeguarding Life
6 "Do not take a pair of millstones or an upper millstone as security for a debt, because that is like taking a life as security.
7 "If a man is discovered kidnapping(c) one of his Israelite brothers, whether he treats him as a slave or sells him, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from you.
8 "Be careful in a case of infectious skin disease, following carefully everything the Levitical priests instruct you to do. Be careful to do as I have commanded them. 9 Remember what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the journey after you left Egypt.(d)
Consideration for People in Need
10 "When you make a loan of any kind to your neighbor, do not enter his house to collect what he offers as security. 11 You must stand outside while the man you are making the loan to brings the security out to you. 12 If he is a poor man, you must not sleep in the garment he has given as security. 13 Be sure to return it[b] to him at sunset. Then he will sleep in it and bless you, and this will be counted as righteousness to you before the Lord your God.(e)
14 "Do not oppress a hired hand who is poor and needy, whether one of your brothers or one of the foreigners residing within a town[c] in your land. 15 You are to pay him his wages each day before the sun sets, because he is poor and depends on them.(f) Otherwise he will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be held guilty.
16 "Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers; each person will be put to death for his own sin.(g) 17 Do not deny justice to a foreigner or fatherless child, and do not take a widow's garment as security. 18 Remember that you were a slave in Egypt, and the Lord your God redeemed(h) you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.(i)
19 "When you reap the harvest in your field, and you forget a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. It is to be left for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.(j) 20 When you knock down the fruit from your olive tree, you must not go over the branches again. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. 21 When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, you must not glean what is left. What remains will be for the foreigner, the fatherless, and the widow. 22 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt. Therefore I am commanding you to do this.(k)
Job 15
Chapter 15
Eliphaz Speaks
1 Then Eliphaz the Temanite replied:
2 Does a wise man answer with empty[a] counsel(a)
or fill himself[b] with the hot east wind?
3 Should he argue(b) with useless talk
or with words that serve no good purpose?
4 But you even undermine the fear of God
and hinder meditation before Him.
5 Your iniquity(c) teaches you what to say,
and you choose the language of the crafty.
6 Your own mouth condemns you, not I;
your own lips testify against you.(d)
7 Were you the first person ever born,
or were you brought forth before the hills?(e)
8 Do you listen in on the council of God,
or have a monopoly on wisdom?(f)
9 What do you know that we don't?
What do you understand that is not clear to us?
10 Both the gray-haired and the elderly are with us,
men older than your father.
11 Are God's consolations not enough for you,
even the words that deal gently with you?
12 Why has your heart misled you,
and why do your eyes flash
13 as you turn your anger[c] against God
and allow such words to leave your mouth?
14 What is man, that he should be pure,(g)
or one born of woman, that he should be righteous?
15 If God puts no trust in His holy ones(h)
and the heavens are not pure in His sight,(i)
16 how much less one who is revolting and corrupt,(j)
who drinks injustice(k) like water?
17 Listen to me and I will inform you.
I will describe what I have seen,
18 what was declared by wise men
and was not suppressed by their ancestors,(l)
19 the land was given to them alone
when no foreigner passed among them.
20 A wicked man writhes in pain all his days;
only a few[d] years are reserved for the ruthless.
21 Dreadful sounds fill his ears;
when he is at peace, a robber attacks him.
22 He doesn't believe he will return from darkness;
he is destined for the sword.(m)
23 He wanders about for food, saying, "Where is it?"
He knows the day of darkness is at hand.
24 Trouble(n) and distress terrify him,
overwhelming him like a king prepared for battle.
25 For he has stretched out his hand(o) against God
and has arrogantly opposed the Almighty.
26 He rushes headlong at Him
with his thick, studded shields.
27 Though his face is covered with fat[e]
and his waistline bulges with it,
28 he will dwell in ruined cities,
in abandoned houses destined to become piles of rubble.(p)
29 He will no longer be rich; his wealth will not endure.
His possessions[f] will not increase in the land.
30 He will not escape from the darkness;
flames will wither his shoots,
and by the breath of God's mouth, he will depart.(q)
31 Let him not put trust in worthless things, being led astray,
for what he gets in exchange will prove worthless.
32 It will be accomplished before his time,
and his branch will not flourish.
33 He will be like a vine that drops its unripe grapes(r)
and like an olive tree that sheds its blossoms.
34 For the company of the godless(s) will have no children,
and fire will consume the tents of those who offer bribes.
35 They conceive trouble(t) and give birth to evil;
their womb(u) prepares deception.(v)
Acts 5:1-16
Chapter 5
Lying to the Holy Spirit
1 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property. 2 However, he kept back part of the proceeds with his wife's knowledge, and brought a portion of it and laid it at the apostles' feet.(a)
3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart(b) to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the proceeds from the field? 4 Wasn't it yours while you possessed it? And after it was sold, wasn't it at your disposal? Why is it that you planned this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God!" 5 When he heard these words, Ananias dropped dead, and a great fear came on all who heard.(c) 6 The young men got up, wrapped his body, carried him out, and buried him.(d)
7 There was an interval of about three hours; then his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 "Tell me," Peter asked her, "did you sell the field for this price?"
"Yes," she said, "for that price."
9 Then Peter said to her, "Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!"(e)
10 Instantly she dropped dead at his feet. When the young men came in, they found her dead, carried her out, and buried her beside her husband. 11 Then great fear came on the whole church and on all who heard these things.
Apostolic Signs and Wonders
12 Many signs and wonders were being done among the people through the hands of the apostles.(f) By common consent they would all meet in Solomon's Colonnade.(g) 13 None of the rest dared to join them, but the people praised them highly.(h) 14 Believers were added to the Lord in increasing numbers—crowds of both men and women. 15 As a result, they would carry the sick out into the streets and lay them on cots and mats so that when Peter came by, at least his shadow(i) might fall on some of them. 16 In addition, a large group came together from the towns surrounding Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.
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